What you will learn

The Graduate Diploma in Mental Health Nursing Practice provides an opportunity for nurses to develop proficient specialty practice.

You will learn to appreciate from a consumer perspective how to apply theoretical, critical and practical knowledge and understand the implications of providing care. This course will enable you to employ specialist nursing knowledge and skills to conduct comprehensive mental health assessment and develop meaningful formulations.

You will be able to exercise enhanced clinical judgment and decision-making and insight into specialist mental health nursing in pursuit of optimal outcomes for the person and family. You will apply scientific judgement and contemporary evidence from a range of sources (consumer reported, clinician-observed and research driven) to underpin the use of therapies, management of medication regimes and application of frameworks which inform mental health nursing practice.

Degree Structure

To gain the Graduate Diploma in Mental Health Nursing Practice you must complete 100 points comprised of:

• Six 12.5 credit point core subjects
• Two 6.25 credit point core subjects
• One elective subject.

Workload

On average, it is estimated that students will be required to allocate 15-19 hours per week for study time for each subject. However, the time commitment required can vary based on individual task management and planning skills, familiarity with the material, reading style and speed.